UK Charges Ex-Glencore Exec Alex Beard with Bribery
British billionaire and former Glencore oil chief Alex Beard has been charged with bribery offences related to the company’s operations in Nigeria, Cameroon, and Ivory Coast. The charges were announced on Thursday by Britain’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO).
Beard, along with four other former Glencore employees—Andrew Gibson, Paul Hopkirk, Ramon Labiaga, and Martin Wakefield—has been accused of conspiring to make corrupt payments to benefit Glencore’s oil operations in West Africa.
The SFO alleged that Beard engaged in two conspiracies to make corrupt payments to government officials and state-owned oil company officials in Nigeria between 2010 and 2014, and in Cameroon between 2007 and 2014. Additionally, Gibson and Wakefield are charged with fraud involving falsification of invoices to Glencore’s London office, marked as service fees to a Nigerian oil consultancy from 2007 to 2011.
All five individuals are scheduled to appear at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court on September 10.
SFO Director Nick Ephgrave stated, “Bribery damages financial markets and causes lasting harm to communities. Today’s action is an important step towards exposing overseas corruption and holding those who are responsible to account.”
A Glencore spokesperson noted the charges and mentioned that the company had co-operated with the SFO in its investigation, resolving the SFO investigation in 2022. The spokesperson emphasized Glencore’s commitment to ethical conduct and the implementation of a robust ethics and compliance programme.
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